Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Sorry, there was a small thing about sharing pens there, so apologies.

Decent, affordable housing is fundamental to the health and well-being of everyone in Wales. Healthy homes provide individuals and families with a stable and secure base that meets the household's needs. They give us a place where we can feel safe and comfortable, and where we are connected to the community, to work and to services. 

Investing in healthy homes is an investment that works hard for us. A quarter of our carbon emissions come from the housing sector. Building new homes to low-carbon and zero-carbon standards makes a significant contribution to tackling climate change. Building new homes creates jobs and apprenticeships, and stimulates economic growth.

And as a preventative service, healthy homes reduce pressures on health and social care services by helping people to maintain their independence. Healthy homes reduce chronic diseases, improve mental health, reduce falls and accidents, and provide a safe environment for early hospital discharge.

Since 2018, we have invested £145 million in the integrated care fund capital programme, providing specialist housing for older people, people with dementia, people with a learning disability, children with complex needs, and unpaid carers. We also invested in intermediate care accommodation in the community, and essential social care infrastructure.

This morning, I visited Tŷ Glas y Dorlan in Cwmbran. With a £1.7 million Welsh Government grant from the ICF, Torfaen County Borough Council, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Bron Afon housing association have worked in partnership to deliver a remarkable development that can have a profound impact on health and well-being in Torfaen. The development includes six extra-care flats for older people on the third floor, and 13 short-term reablement and rehabilitation flats with their own front doors. These reablement flats offer a home-like setting for people stepping down from hospital, and an environment where people who may be considering residential care can be supported to learn new skills so that they can continue to live independently in their own home. Tŷ Glas y Dorlan is a hub for care and therapeutic services for the whole community. Developments like Tŷ Glas y Dorlan are the reason why we are significantly increasing our investment in specialist housing and accommodation in this Senedd term, in support of our programme for government commitment to provide innovative housing to meet care needs.

Today, I am announcing the housing-with-care fund, a four-year fund that builds on the ICF capital programme. In this year's budget we allocated £182 million over the next three years to regional partnership boards to provide housing with care. We aim to increase the total stock of extra-care housing in Wales by up to a third over the next four years, as a direct response to the ageing population. It enables us to accelerate our long-standing policy of helping people with a learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, and other neurological conditions, to live independently, where possible, in their own home.

We will also invest in intermediate care accommodation, such as that provided at Tŷ Glas y Dorlan, as well as accommodation for people who are not yet ready for full independence, and who can sometimes find it difficult to maintain a home, such as a tenancy in the private or social rented sectors. This makes them vulnerable to harm and to experiencing homelessness. This includes care leavers, young adults with learning disabilities, and people with emotional health or mental well-being needs. Investment in transitional accommodation for these groups can contribute to preventing homelessness and all the harm that that can cause.

We will also invest to support our programme for government commitment to fund regional residential services for children with complex needs, ensuring their needs are met as close to home as possible and in Wales wherever practicable. Too often, vulnerable young people with higher needs and challenging behaviours are placed in out-of-county or out-of-country, even, placements. These are staggeringly expensive, with over £200,000 a year per child not being uncommon, and detrimental to their well-being, cutting them off from family and friends, and severing links with local health and care services. Regional partnership boards must address the need for local accommodation as a matter of urgency.

The housing-with-care fund is part of a package of cross-government funding for regional partnership boards, which includes the health and social care regional integration fund and the integration and rebalancing capital fund. In total, this package is worth £255 million in 2022-23.

With this funding comes key leadership challenges for regional partnership boards. The first is to maximise the value of these combined funding streams, using revenue and capital to drive fundamental change. And the second is to build stronger partnerships with local authority housing teams and housing associations, so that social housing providers are an integral part of how health and care services are delivered. And the third is to make smart investment decisions that support our cross-cutting priorities and set us on the road to a healthier, more resilient and low-carbon Wales. Diolch.